Utah Jazz: Tyrone Corbin sticking with starting five

It will be the same ole Jazz for Utah when it comes to tonight's starting lineup.

NEW ORLEANS — It will be the same ole Jazz for Utah when it comes to tonight's starting lineup.

With only nine players to choose from, Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin will stick with the same opening five he's used the past two games: Devin Harris, Gordon Hayward, C.J. Miles, Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson.

Because of injuries and Kyle Weaver's departure, the Jazz (37-43) only have four players on their bench and nine players total as they take on the New Orleans Hornets in their final road game of the 2010-11 season.

Utah is hoping to put a positive ending on a rough year, while New Orleans is trying to improve its playoff positioning. The Hornets (46-34) are currently tied for the seventh spot with Memphis, and are only a game behind No. 6 Portland, so this is a big game for them.

But Corbin said his team is more focused on playing well than filling a spoiler role.

"We just trying to get better and win games," he said, "and that's the main thing for us."

Corbin hopes to be able to give rookie Derrick Favors extended minutes. The 6-foo-10 big man is coming off a career-high scoring night in San Antonio where he scored 17 points in 30 minutes.

Having only nine players increases the likelihood of everybody getting more playing time.

It also gives Corbin an opportunity to experiment with lineup variations, such as the Millsap-Favors-Jefferson combo that had success against the Spurs.

"We have to move some guys around and different things," Corbin said, referring to the small roster. "So we get a chance to look at different guys in different situations is the main thing about it."

The Jazz return home for their season-finale Wednesday night against Denver.

Jody is a sports writer who covers the Utah Jazz for the Deseret News (yeah, rough life). He also writes about his fitness/health journey and triathlon exploits in his "Losing It!" column. He has been with the paper since more ..